JakartaPost-Jan 25, 2024
Three Rohingya refugees ran away from their shelter in Banda Aceh on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between members of the displaced ethnic group and locals in the province. The three people reportedly fled the basement of the Balai Meuseuraya Aceh building in Banda Aceh Police security intelligence unit chief Comr. Suryo Sumatri Darmoyo said on Tuesday, as of Thursday evening, the departees were still at large. Suryo said the police believed they were still in Aceh and called on residents to report any information about their whereabouts. There are now 124 refugees left in the Balai Meuseuraya Aceh building. Three other refugees in the province are in police custody after being named suspects in a human trafficking case, while seven more are under police investigation. The Tuesday incident adds to a long list of Rohingya refugees who have fled shelters across Aceh since last year. According to data from the Banda Aceh Police, 190 Rohingya escaped shelters in the province in 2023. The UN refugee body had told the refugees about the risk they would face if they decided to embark on a second journey to meet their relatives, who might be sheltered in nearby countries. According to UNHCR data, around 107,000 Rohingya refugees were sheltered in Malaysia as of December 2023. Bangladesh, which borders Myanmar, shelters the most Rohingyas, with 960,000 people staying there. Recently, Indonesia has seen an unprecedented wave of Rohingya refugees arriving in the country, with over 1,500 people entering since November 2023. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2024/01/25/rohingya-refugees-flee-aceh-shelter-amid-tensions-with-locals.html
